I needed three trips to the Bay Area (Silicon Valley) in May just to warm up. We've had one of the coldest, wettest springs in Vancouver. However, that didn't stop our team from winning the WINBC golf tournament on June 9 which did record the lowest temperature ever for that date!

The focus of the Bay area trips were investment related where I came across a very strong message: Bay area VCs won't invest where carriers are indicated as the major business or revenue model. Now I find that a bit extreme, but certainly a wake up call to the carriers and others in the ecosystem that rely on 3rd party developers for applications and innovation. There does need to be a better path to market within the carrier's programs.

For developers, having patience and longevity until the ecosystem dust settles is tough. Check out the article below by Philippe deWost of Realeyes3D who provides a Developer Opinion on a new business model: the ability to wait.

I'm also pleased to have a great Go to Market article by my colleague Justin Oberman, who many of you know from his blog MoPocket. If you're looking to recruit exceptional talent in the mobile industry, I encourage you to contact, Justin. He is a sought after thought leader and speaker, whose expertise lies at the intersection where mobile and telecom connect with entertainment/media, finance, marketing and advertising. Ask him about the database he developed on people and org charts in the industry - pretty powerful!

Next stops:NGMN Conference - Frankfurt, June 25-27I'm giving a keynote on Day 2 entitled - What do Innovators and Developers Expect from Next Generation Mobile Networks? I'm in very esteemed company with other speakers including: Hamid Akhavan, CEO, T-Mobile International ; Steve Pusey, CTO, Vodafone Group; Dr. Sha Yuejia, Vice President and CTO, China Mobile; Vivek Badrinath, CTO, France Telecom/Orange and may others.

If you have any comments on how the industry can do a better job of working with developers and innovators in 4G, let me know.

We are also planning now for CTIA in the Fall, September 10-12 in San Francsico

- Mobile Jam Session - now open for sponsorship and discussion leaders.

- Special developer package for the tradshow - WIP is working with CTIA to offer developers a package that includes booth space and lots of marketing support at special rates - contact us now to book your spot.

In the fast paced, always race ahead, high speed world of mobile startups, there is a virtue that may sometimes prove as valuable as the sense of emergency: the ability to wait.

As most of us have discovered, or will discover very soon, this industry demands a tremendous sense of pace to keep up with the ever-evolving trends and fads, groundswell applications, industry-shifting paradigms, not to mention technologies, platforms, ecosystems and business models. Yet, those who tend to impose pace on mobile software developers are not always as fast as they expect from their partners. Especially, when it comes to integration, be it with a handset or on a carrier platform, what was an emergency yesterday may well become a long wait before the developer actually sees a return.

For those who are patient enough - and this includes VCs! -- there may be light at the end of the tunnel. Technologies that were brought to market 12 or even 18 months ago, without a strong early pickup may be in the sweet spot just a few quarters later. Of course, waiting for your product or technology to emerge is a huge cost. A balanced product portfolio with some cash cows is a good configuration to sustain your growth without your « latest wonder ». Recent events have shown that the mobile industry is far from being stabilized around a few technological consensus, and that patience may therefore pay, if you're ready for that next industry shake-up.

Think egomotion, as an example. Egomotion is the ability for a handset to « understand » its own motion in space. We introduced our Motion Cortex™ egomotion estimation and Motionized™ handsets and applications to market almost two years ago, as an innovative way to navigate the phone UI. The technology and its far-reaching applications were very well received by the industry. We won the Jury Award at that year's Mobile Monday Global Peer Awards in Barcelona (held during the 2007 3GSM World Congress).

A visionary company, ACCESS immediately recognized the potential of software-only egomotion estimation. ACCESS integrated Motion Cortex into NetFront Browser 3.5 and offered it to its customers shortly thereafter. But it took several more quarters, and the help of the iPhone-triggered UI revolution across all handset vendors, to see real traction begin for Motion Cortex.

Today, as the award winning Samung Instinct has a Motionized browser, we are reaping the benefits of patience, as this technology seems to be now ready to enter the mainstream handset market.

In a nutshell, run fast, save your breath and dough, and keep looking far ahead!

Philippe Dewost is VP of Marketing and Business Development for Realeyes3D, an established innovator in applications and solutions for the camera phone user, with more than 56 million handsets shipped factory equipped with its software.

Do you have a viewpoint you'd like to share in the next edition of The Connector? Contact us at: wipnews at wipconnector dot com

Developer Program Events, Contests and other activities

"LBS - Out the Box" EMEA Developer CompetitionThe European edition of the successful Tele Atlas LBS Innovator Series is launched. This contest is for both mobile and Web applications that include mapping or location as a functionality enhancement.

Over €100,000 in prizes to be won and a Showcase of appliations on the Tele Atlas stand at Mobile World Congress 2009, Feb 16-19, Barcelona. For further details go to: http://www.lbsseries.com

Sierra Wireless & Wavefront Developer Program & Awards

A six-month program to find best-in-class applications that take advantage of Sierra Wireless' AirCard GPS capabilities. Winners will receive exciting marketing and promotion opportunities. A selection of the received written applications will be asked to proceed with creating working versions. For more info and to register please visit http://www.wavefrontac.com/events.php

AT&T Game Development Contest for Windows

MobileMay 1-July 31, 2008

The AT&T Developer Program, devCentral, has partnered with Windows Mobile, HTC and mobile game distributor, I-play, to bring you the AT&T Game Development Contest for Windows Mobile. Show us what you've got and have the chance to win $25,000 cash and a distribution contract. Other prizes include $5,000 cash for runners-up. Deadline for submission: July 31st, 2008. For complete details, visit: http://www.tcspromo.com/developercontest/

This leading open source event in the telecoms calendar boasts an international speaker faculty of more than 80 industry leaders in a 2 day, multi tracked summit. A truly global event! Attendees from OSiM 2007 came from over 42 countries. Please visit: www.osimworld.com

Getting to Market: Recruiting Talent with Justin Oberman

We asked Justin Oberman to provide some Getting to Market wisdom on Recuiting in the Mobile industry. With his vast knowledge and network within the wireless industry, Justin offers a refreshingly therapeutic approach to the sector's workforce needs. Here are some of his thoughts on how to optimize your investment in human capital.

Hiring talent in the mobile/telecom space is a tricky endeavor. Sure, there are various sources you can use to identify potential candidates - ranging from employee referrals and in-house candidates, to recruiting ads and search firms. Throw in online job postings, social networks and information aggregators, and the result is usually an avalanche of names. But how do you identify who is truly right for you?

The wireless industry is still developing and feeds off a mishmash of other disciplines (i.e. entertainment, marketing, finance) that give it functionality and potential. And what typically breaks down in the hiring process is that companies look for skills that are so hard to define that they almost don't exist. What is needed in our industry are professionals who have:

- Experiences in diverse disciplines - The potential to leverage what they know to transition into something new

Taking the conventional, linear approach to recruiting, by attempting to match job requirements and skills, will yield underwhelming results. Rather, hiring managers must re-orient their thinking and approach the evaluation talent from a different angle. Instead of focusing on skills, hiring managers should focus on personal attributes. Why? Because attributes more accurately reflect how people do their work and what drives them to achieve results.

For example, an attribute that is important for many roles in the wireless industry is courage. What is courage? It is an eagerness to participate. In other words, someone who is brave enough to step into the outer boundaries of the fragmented, new media industry. Here are a few questions to ask candidates to determine their level of courage:

1. How have you reached beyond your comfort zone?2. What are some situations in which you had to explore the unknown? 3. When have you demonstrated a fearless commitment to achieve an objective?4. Have you risked failure in the quest for novel solutions?

By penetrating into a candidate's inner professional psyche, you can paint a picture in your mind about his/her ability to not only deliver value to your enterprise, but also fit into your organizational culture.

Justin Oberman is now directing the Mobile/Telecom desk for Precision Research Group, a boutique executive search firm that has been finding the "unfindable" for talent hungry companies since 1996. Justin can be contacted at 212-230-1991 or email joberman@prgconnect.com

Other Events, Activities and Discounts for WIP Members

Mobile Web 2.0 Summit

June 11 & 12, 2008

London, England

Following the recent hype surrounding Mobile Web 2.0, the Mobile Web 2.0 Summit on June 11-12 in London will focus on how 2008 is truly the year to create sustainable business models for making money from Mobile Web 2.0. This is your perfect opportunity to question and meet industry experts from Vodafone, O2, Orange, Hutchinson 3G, Swisscom Mobile, OMTP, Google, Yahoo!, MEF, Mozilla, M:Metrics, MoblogUK, Yell.com, Bango, AdMob Inc, and many more.

At this conference you will meet and network with Board members of the NGMN Alliance, CEOs and Senior Executives - comprising world-wide leading mobile operators and vendors - as well as other top level participants of the wider mobile ecosystem.

MOBILE 2.0 EUROPEJuly 4, 2008Espacio ESADE FORUM, Barcelona

This conference brings together experts and thought leaders from all aspects of the mobile ecosystem, including startups, investors, mobile carriers, device manufacturers, and mobile application developers and web technologists.Please visit mobile20.eu/

Broadband World Forum Asia 2008July 15 - 18, 2008Hong Kong, China

Forum is designed to help service providers meet the challenges of offering revenue-driving broadband-enabled services while evolving their networks, operations, and business models in a new world of competition. 30% discount for WIP members-code VIPWIP.For details, visit: www.iec.org/events/2008/bbwf_asia

Join Parks Associates and Consumer Electronics Association (CEAź) at the CONNECTIONS™ Europe Summit Series, two strategic events dedicated to the discussion and analysis of new business models for emerging services, applications, and advanced digital technologies.Please visit: www.connectionseurope.com

Mobile+ Summit 2008Sept 1 - 3, 2008Kiev, Ukraine

Join this summit and learn the latest developments and best practices about how to secure ROI on mobile broadband investments, on FMC in CEE, on mobile advertising strategies, and on competitive strategies in highly penetrated markets. Visit website for details: www.magenta-global.com.sg/MobilePlusSummit/